Google’s press package for its $12.5bn acquisition of Motorola Mobility included a surprising accompaniment: a list of supportive quotes from HTC, Samsung, Sony Ericsson and LG.
These four smartphone makers have ridden Android’s wave of growth in the last two years but may feel they have been dumped on the beach by Google’s acquisition Motorola, a substantial competitor with 11 per cent of the US smartphone market.
The fact that all four statements are so similar only adds to the sense that they have been written through gritted teeth:
“We welcome today’s news, which demonstrates Google’s deep commitment to defending Android, its partners, and the ecosystem.” JK Shin, president, Samsung, Mobile Communications Division
“I welcome Google‘s commitment to defending Android and its partners.” Bert Nordberg, president & CEO, Sony Ericsson
“We welcome the news of today‘s acquisition, which demonstrates that Google is deeply committed to defending Android, its partners, and the entire ecosystem.” Peter Chou, CEO, HTC
“We welcome Google‘s commitment to defending Android and its partners.” Jong-Seok Park, president & CEO, LG Electronics Mobile Communications Company
Andy Rubin, Google’s mobile chief, told analysts on Monday’s conference call that this deal was a net positive for its mobile partners. He said that the top five Android handset makers “all showed very enthusiastic support” for the acquisition, adding: “It doesn’t make sense for it to be a single OEM [original equipment manufacturer]… Android remains open to other partners to use as they are today.”
But as the four manufacturers’ comments about “defending Android” attest, there is a silver lining as they go into hardware competition with their software partner.
Earlier this month, a tit-for-tat exchange of blogs and tweets between Google and Microsoft illustrated that patent lawsuits are of rising concern in the Googleplex. Android faces “a hostile, organized campaign … by Microsoft, Oracle, Apple and other companies, waged through bogus patents”, according to David Drummond, Google’s chief legal officer.
And it’s not just Google: this graphic gives a broadly accurate impression of the dozens of lawsuits flying around the mobile industry.
So it’s not surprising that intellectual property strategy was the hot topic of questioning from analysts on the Google-Motorola conference call.
In response, Mr Drummond said:
“In terms of post acquisition… we’re obviously not going to talk about the legal strategy today. But suffice it to say that we believe we’ll be in a very good position to protect the Android ecosystem for all of the partners.”
Patent battles are a little like nuclear war: for there to be peace, each side must have armaments equally assuring mutual destruction.
Motorola has more than 17,000 active patents, dating back to the earliest mobile-phone technology, and another 7,500 going through the mill.
Google may have just acquired an instant nuclear deterrent – and that’s something that the companies who have come to rely on Android may welcome in spite of the new tension the deal creates.
